Derby – Stoke – Crewe

Our plans have the potential to increase passenger demand on the corridor by 72%, with faster, more frequent services.

Currently, there is just one service per hour on this route, taking 79 minutes. We're planning to double the frequency of trains to two per hour, with the potential to increase passenger demand by 72% to 350,000 users a year by 2037. Doing so could provide an alternative to the congested A50 and M6.

It could also be possible to reduce journey times by 20 minutes with changes to calling patterns on this additional service.

Investing in this corridor can also improve links to HS2 services at Crewe for people in north Staffordshire and the East Midlands.

The new franchise holder Abellio is already proposing an extension to services on this corridor to Nottingham, which will be included in our own corridor study.

Delivery: In phases from 2022 to 2033, with an estimated capital cost of less than £50 million.

Journey time saving: 79 min to 55 min.

Passenger demand: 72% increase by 2037 following improvements.

What happens next?

A feasibility study is underway and a Strategic Outline Business Case is due to be submitted in 2020.